You Need PR When… By Aneela Rose

You Need PR When… By Aneela Rose

There isn’t an organisation or business in existence that wouldn’t benefit from some form of PR. A business that has mastered good PR achieves huge competitive advantage. Below are six factors that are clear cut indicators that PR is required:

1. Your competition is getting media coverage and you are not:

Whaddya mean you’re not taking full advantage of this accepted state of credibility?! Free publicity can create much more awareness and many more sales than any form of paid advertising or promotion. And if it’s good enough for your competitors, then…

Seriously, publicity can be such a valuable tool, you’d be nuts not to do something about it. Start thinking of news angles that are a bit more creative than your competition. Now!

2. Your company is merging with another company:

At the time of writing, US cable tycoon John Malone’s Liberty Global has agreed to buy the UK’s Virgin Media in a deal worth a mere £15bn. That’s a big deal. In many ways. And the free publicity that Virgin Media will gain will be substantial. Perhaps even more so than when Virgin Media was created from the merger of NTL and Telewest, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile.

The moral of this little story, dear reader, is, mergers, acquisitions or new alliances are big business — and make big headlines. So tell the media about them. (Though not Virgin Media; they’ve got enough press coverage already.)

3. You want to position your company or yourself as an expert and share your expertise with others:

When a breaking news story or big event is making headlines, you can be certain that news organisations are desperately seeking new quotable information and insights…from people who can add their own particular ‘expertise’.

Becoming known as a reliable, quotable expert can lead to positive exposure in the media that may prove to be very lucrative for your business.

4. You are a leader in your field, but other important audiences are unaware of your position:

On the subject of positioning yourself as an authority figure, what if you are missing out by not reaching all core audiences? For instance, a safety expert could write about keeping children safe in school, aimed at teachers who read education journals. They could also participate in online forums related to their area of expertise. Think outside the box when it comes to your target market.

5. You are not involved with your local community and want to be:

Working with your local community services groups or local charities can be an exceptional way to win a ton of publicity for your company.

Usually, though, businesses use ‘passive’ techniques such as donating a product to be auctioned off or be used as a competition prize. While this will earn you a fairly decent amount of exposure, it’s not really going to bring in many, if any, new customers.

However, a seasoned PR firm should be able to offer techniques that help you tap into the power of community services, and get maximum mileage from your publicity campaign.

6. You have been misrepresented in the media and would like to set the record straight:

They say that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. But there can be. Especially in the world of social media, where reputations can be ruined quicker than Julian Assange can say ‘freedom of speech’. So if you have been misquoted or misrepresented in the press, then you’d better do something about it — and quickly.

Telling your side of the story to the newspapers, putting the record straight on Facebook, and other damage-reducing tactics can put an end to any ill-fated publicity.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. If you would like to discuss how Aneela and her team can help your business, please make contact. Aneela Rose is a PR, Marketing and Social Media Consultant supported by her in-house Roses and a highly experienced team of Associate Roses. Our website is https://www.aneelarosepr.co.uk